Risk Management Education for Kentucky Farm Women

This article describes how an agricultural and farm risk management education program, known as Annie’s Project, was adapted from a midwestern focus to meet the diversity of Kentucky agriculture and shares the results of a longer-term evaluation of the Kentucky program. The Annie’s Project program is geared specifically to the needs of farm women. The program adaption process, which began in late 2006, is detailed from inception through pilot testing to the full launch of the program. Over a four year period, the Kentucky Annie’s Project program reached 425 farm women in 41 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The evaluation draws on the results of a questionnaire mailed to program participants 18 months to 5 years after programming. Participants reported statistically significant gains in all topical areas representing agricultural risk management education, including production, human resources, marketing, legal, and financial. Key actions which occurred as a result of participating in the program included increasing confidence in management abilities, reviewing personal/farm insurances policies, developing a network of peers and professionals, and using financial statements

Studies on hormonal induction of embryonic erythropoiesis

It has been established that the hormone, erythropoietin, is concerned in the control of normal adult erythropoiesis in mammals; it is known to act by stimulating maturation of progenitor cells. The part played by erythropoietin during foetal life in not clear; its mode of action on sensitive cells is also uncertain. The hormone may be assayed in vitro by neorurin the incorporation of 59Po into protein-bound ham by erythroid sell cultures. The erythroid activity and response to erythropoietin of cells from rat yolk sac, fcetal liver and foetal spleen were investigated; similar studies were carried out on rabbit foetal liver cells. The pattern of in vivo activity and sensitivity to erythropoietin observed during gestation suggested that, in both species, foetal erythropoiesis was controlled, in part, by erythropoietin; it was concluded that erythropoietin, probably of foetal origin, controlled red cell production except during yolk sac erythropoiesie. In many mammals the foetus produces haemoglobin distinct from the adult haemoglobin. Using starch gel electrophoresis the nature of the haemoglobins in circulating cells during gestation of mouse and rabbit foetuses was determined. Two haemoglobins were found in the blood of young rabbit footless; three were found in young mouse foetuses. In both species these disappeared during gestation and were replaced by a single adult haemoglobin. The site of production of the different haemoglobins was determined by starch gel electro-phoresis of 59Fe-labelled haemoglobin synthesised by erythroid cells in vitro. Only foetal haemoglobins were made by mouse yolk sac cells while only adult haemoglobin was made by foetal liver cells. Erythropoietin, to which only foetal liver cells were sensitive, stimulated only adult haemoglobin synthesis; it did not appear to affect haemoglobin synthesis directly, in circulating cells. Two haemoglobins were found in the blood of young rat foetuses; three others appeared during the early stages of foetal liver erythropoiesis. After birth, the amount of one of the components first present decreased to very lom levels in adult animals. The relative rates of synthesis of the haemoglobins were characteristic of the stage of gestation and remained the same during much, if not all, of cell maturation. It was found that erythropoietin treatment of feetal or adult erythroid cells had only a quantitative effect on haemoglobin synthesis; it did not alter the relative amounts of each haemoglobin present. As in mouse, it appeared to have no direct effect on haemoglobin synthesis by circulating cells. The effects of inhibitors, colchicine, FUdR, aotinomycin D and puromycin, on the response to erythropoietin of mouse foetal liver cells indicated that syntheses of DNA, RNA and protein, but not cell division, were essential for erythropoietin induced haemoglobin synthesis. Further studies indicated that cells usually divided after erythropoietin treatment but that this wan not mandatory for haemoglobin synthesis. The technique was altered to measure synthesis of DNA, RNA and total protein, as well as haem synthesis after erythropoietin treatment. These studies, including the effect of inhibitors upon the response, suggested that the first detectable result of erythropoietin treatment was mRNA synthesis; this permitted protein synthesis which was essential for DNA synthesis. These events occurred very quickly and DNA synthesis doubled within 1 hr. of crythropcietin treatment. Afterwards, cell maturation, including haemoglobin synthesis, could proceed. The time-course of the response suggested that erythropoietin might stimulate maturing cells, capable of DNA synthesis, as well as progenitor cells; the responding cells, whatever their nature, appeared to be sensitive to erythropoietin during the G1 period of their cycle. These results were discussed in relation to in vitro studies on other differentiating cells

Interactive effects of prey and p,p′-DDE on Burrowing Owl population dynamics

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecological Applications 16 (2006): 666–677.We used population models to explore the effects of the organochlorine contaminant p,p'DDE and fluctuations in vole availability on the population dynamics of Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia). Previous work indicated an interaction between low biomass of voles in the diet and moderate levels of p,p'DDE in Burrowing Owl eggs that led to reproductive impairment. We constructed periodic and stochastic matrix models that incorporated three vole population states observed in the field: average, peak and crash years. We modeled varying frequencies of vole crash years and a range of impairment of owl demographic rates in vole crash years. Vole availability had a greater impact on owl population growth rate than reproductive impairment if vole populations peaked and crashed frequently. However, this difference disappeared as the frequency of vole crash years declined to once per decade. Fecundity, the demographic rate most affected by p,p'DDE, had less impact on population growth rate than adult or juvenile survival. A life table response experiment of time-invariant matrices for average, peak and crash vole conditions showed that low population growth under vole crash conditions was due to low adult and juvenile survival rates, whereas the extremely high population growth under vole peak conditions was due to increased fecundity. Our results suggest that even simple models can provide useful insights into complex ecological interactions. This is particularly valuable when temporal or spatial scales preclude manipulative experimental work in the field or laboratory.Field work was supported by grants from the U.S. Navy EFA West, California Department of Fish and Game, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to D. K. Rosenberg. Analysis was supported in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (R-82908901-0)

Are Boredom Prone Individuals Creative and Curious About Their Environment?

After controlling for overall personality characteristics, boredom proneness did not predict creativity, but did positively predict people’s motivation to seek out novel experiences and find answers to things they do not understand. Thus, future work should explore how to use these relationships to help individuals respond effectively to the experience of boredom.Knowledge Mobilization at York - York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services for faculty, graduate students, community and government seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. This summary has been supported by the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation at York and project funding from SSHRC and CIHR. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Nonprofit Partnerships in Extension Programming: A Pilot Study

Strategic collaboration between Extension faculty and nonprofit organizations has the potential to reduce costs, generate revenue, and improve programmatic outcomes for all involved. Through a mixed-methods pilot study, we examined how and to what extent such collaboration exists. Data sources included the National Center for Charitable Statistics, the Foundation Center, and results from a survey administered to county Extension faculty in one administrative district in Florida. Findings indicate that although Extension faculty partner with nonprofits, further development of these partnerships could lead to increased revenue generation and programmatic outcomes. Our methods and findings may help inform future research and development of strategic partnerships elsewhere within Extension

Concomitant medication use and clinical outcome of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) treatment of Major Depressive Disorder.

BackgroundRepetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is commonly administered to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients taking psychotropic medications, yet the effects on treatment outcomes remain unknown. We explored how concomitant medication use relates to clinical response to a standard course of rTMS.MethodsMedications were tabulated for 181 MDD patients who underwent a six-week rTMS treatment course. All patients received 10 Hz rTMS administered to left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), with 1 Hz administered to right DLPFC in patients with inadequate response to and/or intolerance of left-sided stimulation. Primary outcomes were change in Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report (IDS-SR30) total score after 2, 4, and 6 weeks.ResultsUse of benzodiazepines was associated with less improvement at week 2, whereas use of psychostimulants was associated with greater improvement at week 2 and across 6 weeks. These effects were significant controlling for baseline variables including age, overall symptom severity, and severity of anxiety symptoms. Response rates at week 6 were lower in benzodiazepine users versus non-users (16.4% vs. 35.5%, p = 0.008), and higher in psychostimulant users versus non-users (39.2% vs. 22.0%, p = 0.02).ConclusionsConcomitant medication use may impact rTMS treatment outcome. While the differences reported here could be considered clinically significant, results were not corrected for multiple comparisons and findings should be replicated before clinicians incorporate the evidence into clinical practice. Prospective, hypothesis-based treatment studies will aid in determining causal relationships between medication treatments and outcome

Exploring the utility of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale.

Background: State boredom–the experience of boredom in the moment – is related to a number of psychosocial issues. Until the recent creation of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS), research was constrained by the lack of a comprehensive, validated measure. However, the MSBS could benefit from further evaluation. Aim: To more thoroughly validate the MSBS. Methods: In two studies, participants were induced into a state of either boredom or non-boredom, and then completed the MSBS. Results: Discriminant analysis showed that the full MSBS was able to correctly classify 68.1% (Study 2) – 84.1% (Study 1) of participants into their experimental condition. Based on 14 further DA analysis, a subset of eight items (a potential short form) is proposed. Differential item functioning (Study 1) found only one item to which responding differed by gender. Discussion: Use of the MSBS, including the full scale versus the short form, is discussed. Which experiential components of boredom may be particularly important for classifying bored individuals, and the issue of variability across boredom manipulations, are also considered

Alveolar macrophages lack CCR2 expression and do not migrate to CCL2

Background: The recruitment of mononuclear cells has important implications for tissue inflammation. Previous studies demonstrated enhanced CCR1 and CCR5 expression and decreased CCR2 expression during in vitro monocyte to macrophage differentiation. To date, no study examined the in vivo differences in chemokine receptor expression between human peripheral blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages. Methods: We examined the expression of these receptors in human peripheral blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages using microarray analysis, reverse-transcriptase PCR, flow cytometry and migration analyses. Results: In contrast to peripheral blood monocytes, alveolar macrophages did not express the CCL2 receptor, CCR2, and did not migrate toward CCL2. In contrast, monocytes and freshly isolated resident alveolar macrophages both migrated towards CCL3. However, up to 6-fold more monocytes migrated toward equivalent concentrations of CCL3 than did alveolar macrophages from the same donor. While peripheral blood monocytes expressed the CCL3 receptor, CCR1, alveolar macrophages expressed the alternate CCL3 receptor, CCR5. The addition of anti-CCR5 blocking antibodies completely abrogated CCL3-induced migration in alveolar macrophages, but did not affect the migration of peripheral blood monocytes. Conclusion: These data support the specificity of CCL2 to selectively drive monocyte, but not alveolar macrophage recruitment to the lung and CCR5 as the primary macrophage receptor for CCL3

Crystal structures of Burkholderia cenocepacia dihydropteroate synthase in the apo-form and complexed with the product 7,8-dihydropteroate

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The enzyme dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) participates in the <it>de novo </it>synthesis of folate cofactors by catalyzing the formation of 7,8-dihydropteroate from condensation of <it>p</it>-aminobenzoic acid with 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropteroate pyrophosphate. DHPS is absent from humans, who acquire folates from diet, and has been validated as an antimicrobial therapeutic target by chemical and genetic means. The bacterium <it>Burkholderia cenocepacia </it>is an opportunistic pathogen and an infective agent of cystic fibrosis patients. The organism is highly resistant to antibiotics and there is a recognized need for the identification of new drugs against <it>Burkholderia </it>and related Gram-negative pathogens. Our characterization of the DHPS active site and interactions with the enzyme product are designed to underpin early stage drug discovery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An efficient recombinant protein expression system for DHPS from <it>B. cenocepacia </it>(<it>Bc</it>DHPS) was prepared, the dimeric enzyme purified in high yield and crystallized. The structure of the apo-enzyme and the complex with the product 7,8-dihydropteroate have been determined to 2.35 Å and 1.95 Å resolution respectively in distinct orthorhombic crystal forms. The latter represents the first crystal structure of the DHPS-pterin product complex, reveals key interactions involved in ligand binding, and reinforces data generated by other structural studies. Comparisons with orthologues identify plasticity near the substrate-binding pocket and in particular a range of loop conformations that contribute to the architecture of the DHPS active site. These structural data provide a foundation for hit discovery. An intriguing observation, an artifact of the analysis, that of a potential sulfenamide bond within the ligand complex structure is mentioned.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Structural similarities between <it>Bc</it>DHPS and orthologues from other Gram-negative species are evident as expected on the basis of a high level of sequence identity. The presence of 7,8-dihydropteroate in the binding site provides details about ligand recognition by the enzyme and the different states of the enzyme allow us to visualize distinct conformational states of loops adjacent to the active site. Improved drugs to combat infections by <it>Burkholderia sp. </it>and related Gram-negative bacteria are sought and our study now provides templates to assist that process and allow us to discuss new ways of inhibiting DHPS.</p